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Monday, 1 October 2012

Hario Strait, Suwon

The Suwon district
where he dropped me is endowed with some breathtaking scenery, not least in the
vicinity of the Hario Strait where it is spanned by the Saikai Bridge. I enjoyed a fishburger and fries for supper
at an English-style chippy on the south side, then walked a few kilometres in
the dark, before settling down to sleep, obscured by a big pillar under a road
bridge. Entertainment overnight came from wild boars, foraging noisily to
within a few metres of my ‘camp’; i had resort to shouting and throwing rocks
in order to send them back into the forest. Then at first light there was a similar
rustling but a more appealing vision, of what initially i supposed could be a
monkey but turned out to be a Japanese Marten; bright orange with a pretty
white face, watching me from a vantage point at the top of an escarpment.

On Saturday 23rd July, dedicated
to SS. Philip Evans and John Lloyd, i got up respectably early and followed the
road down to the coastline, with gorgeous views across Omura Wan bay, separating the Nishisonogi Peninsula from mainland
Kyushu. My plan was to put off using transport until evening, but by late
morning more fierce heat had induced me to wait for an omnibus. Such a charabanc
brought me to the centre of “historic, romantic and exotic” Nagasaki at about
2pm; the only place on my round-the-world voyage, incidentally, which also
featured in that of Phileas Fogg. At a tourist information point i learnt how
to find a nearby Catholic church, where it was a blessing to pray my rosary in
the cool. I then went to the bus station to arrange carriage back to Fukuoka
for Monday morning, and was mildly diverted by the sight of European/American
sumo wrestlers on a television screen, complete with amazing hair-cuts and generous
paunches.Thank goodness there isn't a
womens' version, though frankly it wouldn't look much more ridiculous than
womens' boxing or rugby[1].
Deciding to gauge the bed situation, the tourist info people came up trumps
again, booking me into an old-fashioned, inexpensive and welcoming youth hostel
about 10 minutes walk away. After a wash and nap i supped a bowl of rice with
nice sauce in a straightforward diner before heading to bed.

On 24th July i came back to the
church near the centre for 9am Sunday morning Mass. A solicitous
English-speaking member of the congregation told me to visit the Oura Catholic Church but, partly because
of its proximity to Nagasaki’s Atomic Bomb Museum, my first priority was the Shrine
of the 26 Martyrs. This consists firstly of a monument, overlooking a small
park, with a row of statues of the 26 men and boys, foremost among whom is St
Paul Miki, one of 20 native Japanese; a Jesuit who would shortly have been
ordained to the priesthood, had not an episode worthy of the most swashbuckling
‘high seas’ adventure yarn intervened.

In
July 1596 the Spanish galleon San Felipe
set sail from Manila in the Philippines for Mexico (New Spain as it was then
known), carrying a contingent of soldiers, cannon and ammunition, along with five
friars of various orders. One of these was a Franciscan, Philip of Jesus, a
native of Mexico, journeying home for his ordination, since no Bishop was
available in Manila. When the ship was driven by a storm onto the coast of
Japan, the local governor confiscated her and imprisoned the crew and
passengers. The figure of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Taikosane or regent for the emperor (effectively Japan’s head honcho[2])
then makes another of his faintly disquieting appearances on the pages of
history. Already alarmed, it seems, at the growing influence of Christianity in
Japan (there were perhaps as many as 300,000 Christians by the end of the 16th
century), he sought to exploit the ship-wreck of the San Felipe as a way of
raising the spectre of foreign invasion, and associating this fear with the
advance of Christianity. The friars, with 21 other Christians from the community
in Kyoto, were condemned to the exemplary punishment of crucifixion. On 3rd
January 1597 their ears were cropped, after which they were made to walk 1000
kilometres to their martyrdom in Nagaski, on February 5th, being bound to
crosses and then run through with spears. The church at the shrine is
principally dedicated to St Philip of Jesus, Mexico’s first native-born saint
and patron of Mexico City; visiting briefly, i noticed a large book about Our
Lady of Guadalupe in an ante room. On the gruelling march from Kyoto, St Philip
is said to have found the courage to joke; “…the San Felipe was shipwrecked so
that Br. Felipe could go to heaven”. A contemporary account records these words
of St Paul Miki, delivered as a sermon from his cross:

“All
of you who are here, please, listen to me. I did not come from the Philippines,
i am a Japanese by birth, and a brother of the Society of Jesus. I have
committed no crime, and the only reason why i am put to death is that i have
been teaching the doctrine of Our Lord Jesus Christ. I am very happy to die for
such a cause, and see my death as a great blessing from the Lord.”[3]

[1] In case this needs to be
explained: certain sports and activities have been developed as ways of channelling
testosterone. Women don’t need to
channel testosterone, so their engagement in these activities looks stupid.

[2] Derived from a Japanese word,
approximating to the English word ‘sergeant’.

[3] It’s interesting to note that
the 26 Martyrs are recognised as saints by the Church of England as well as the
Church of Rome.

About Me

Hi, I'm James Bruce, a 41 year old chap from Bristol in England. I set off on 22 March 2013 from Blantyre, Scotland, with the aim of reaching Blantyre, Malawi, with God's help. I am raising money for Mary's Meals, the non-denominational charity that feeds children worldwide and helps them gain an education. I paid for all my expenses myself, thanks to a legacy from my late grandfather. If you would like to donate please call call 0800 698 1212 or visit www.marysmeals.org.uk.
I hope you will accompany me on this journey from wherever you are! God bless, James